Filia, the goddess of Love
by ArtikGato
Summary: My version of the myths of Aphrodite and her lovers... with the cast of Slayers! This is what happens when a sleepdeprived person like me can't decide between XellossFilia and ValgaavFilia...


**Filia, the Goddess of Love**

**By ArtikGato**

Disclaimer: I own Slayers!! That's right!! Any lawyer who gets NEAR me trying to sue is gonna eat a Dragon Slave! What? What do you MEAN I can't really do a Dragon Slave in this world? pouts Fiiiiiine! I don't own Slayers!

Author's Notes: It's been a while since I've written anything. My excuse: school. My actual reason? Anime music videos. '' Heh... both watching and making. But I managed, between all of my oppressive school work, my friends dragging me off to various places, and my addiction both for watching and for making music videos, to squeeze out one little fic. I've always been fond of Greek mythology... I even wrote an entire research paper off the top of my head in about two hours for my college history class... and I'd always wanted to try writing one of the Greek myths with anime characters. Then, after a Slayers overdose, specifically Slayers TRY (I watched the entire season in like two nights...seriously), an overdose of unfair Greek history homework, and a serious lack of sleep, I cooked this fic idea up. While watching Slayers TRY I began to wonder who was better for Filia: Xelloss or Valgaav. Obviously, my question was answered at the end, when Val got turned into an egg and Filia adopted him as her son. It was at that point that I became a _completely_ rabid supporter of Xelloss/Filia...though I still entertain the idea of an AU coupling of Fi and Val...as you can see from this fic.

Warnings: The following pairings are in this story: Filia/Valgaav, Filia/Xelloss, Filia/Gaav (lol...explained in the story), and suggested Lina/Gourry.

For all of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Aphrodite and her husband and lovers, please read the story anyway and THEN read the little paragraph at the bottom...it'll make more sense that way.

Anyway, here is the cast:

Aphrodite, the goddess of Love: Filia

Ares, the god of War: Valgaav (just called Val in this story)

Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods: Gaav

Hermes, the messenger of the gods: Xelloss

Hera, the queen of the gods: Saichuro (the supreme elder)

Two random mortals: Lina and Gourry

And now...on with the show!!

**Filia, the Goddess of Love**

"This...this...is horrible!" Filia finally managed to answer. Saichuro had betrothed her to HIM?! Her, Filia Ul Copt, the beautiful goddess of Love, forced to marry that horrible, detestable Gaav, the Demon Dragon King? How could that BE?! How could this be permitted?

Filia checked Saichuro's wrinkled old face for any signs that this may have been a cruel joke or clever prank. None. She knew that he had always had a profound dislike for her and all, but he had to go and do THIS?! Preposterous!

"You can't **DO** this!!" she protested. Saichuro sighed.

"The wedding will be tonight at six-o-clock. Be there...or else," he said, and with that vanished from sight, leaving an infuriated Filia shaking with anger. All she could think of at the moment was burying a huge battle-axe into his wrinkled old forehead. The NERVE!

"What kind of divine justice is THIS?!" she practically screamed, storming out of the room and shoving angrily past a smug looking Gaav. She sent him a murderous glare as he regarded her with a predatory gaze. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and it both enraged and scared her.

It didn't take her long to find him. Her head was still barely clear enough to remember that at this time of the day, he was always in the garden, practicing his swordsmanship on the air. Apparently, he had heard her coming, because as she ran toward him, she vaguely noted that he had dropped his sword and mopped some of the sweat off of his face and muscular chest. Before he could say anything, she had reached his arms and buried her face in his chest, weeping. The green-haired god of War was surprised by her actions, to say the least.

"Filia? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh, Val, it's horrible! Saichuro has betrothed me to Gaav!" she managed to exclaim, looking up at him, her face stained with tears. His already concerned face became grave.

"He what?!" Val demanded. She continued to weep as the hopelessness of the situation settled on them both.

"What should I do?" she asked.

"Saichuro can't be talked out of this, can he?" Val asked, quietly, holding her tightly against him. She shook her head. Val swallowed a little. They both knew that Gaav could never be talked out of it, either. His lust for the goddess of Love was well-known. There really were no options available for the goddess of Love at this point. None of the gods, Olympian or Earthly, dared to oppose Saichuro. Val held her tighter against him.

"Filia..." he started, slowly. "Just because you will be married to Gaav, that doesn't mean I will love you any less..." he finally managed to say. Being the god of War and all, emotions other than anger and hatred were rather hard for him to express, so it took a great deal of personal sacrifice of pride to say that. Filia sniffed a little, shocked by his words.

"Th...thank you, Val," she finally managed, and leaned her head against his shoulder. There were a few seconds of silence between them until Val spoke up.

"I just don't understand why he would betroth you to Gaav so suddenly...unless perhaps he found out about what we've been doing in our spare time," Filia looked concerned at this statement.

"I was thinking the very same thing...but how could he have found out? We have gone to great measures to keep this a secret," Filia replied.

In the nearby shadow of a tree sat a figure clad in a blue and green cape. He was barely distinguishable from the shadow itself as he watched the couple in secret. He smirked.

"How indeed?" he asked himself, quietly. (no, he asked a squirrel! A squirrel named Bob! It was his pet squirrel! Err...sorry) Val and Gaav weren't the only Olympian gods who desired the beautiful Filia. In truth, he _had_ hoped that by telling Saichuro of the trysts between his step-daughter and the young god of War that Saichuro would have rewarded him with Filia's hand in marriage... but his plan had obviously backfired. He sighed. Oh well. The trickster _always_ got what he wanted, one way or the other. With that thought in mind, the purple-haired man vanished, just as Filia and Val began to engage in what we shall call "extracurricular activities". Xelloss knew it wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last...

TIME PASSES...

Filia sighed, and flopped down onto her insanely big bed, enjoying her fluffy, soft, plush, light-pink blankets. She reached out to her bedside table for a glass of wine, but before she could drink there was a knock on her door. Not wanting to exert the energy to get up and open the door herself, yelled "Come in!" Her eyes narrowed into a glare when a purple-haired man wearing a long, black and green cape stepped through her door, a broad smile on his face.

"Hello, Filia-chan!" he greeted her. She groaned.

"Go away, Xelloss," she commanded. He looked disappointed. She had never trusted the secretive Messenger of the gods, and he knew it.

"Why, Filia, must you be so rude? I heard that you were betrothed to marry Gaav today, and I came by to congratulate you!" he replied, in a tone that practically screamed "I'M LYING!!" Filia continued to glare at him.

"What's the _real _reason for your visit?" she asked, dryly. He feigned shock and hurt.

"You are so distrustful! Can't I congratulate my favorite goddess of Love on her marriage?" he asked, opening one purple eye to regard her. She obviously wasn't buying it, so he decided to try something else.

"No? All right then, I guess I'll leave," he said, standing up to leave. She looked a little less tense with the knowledge that he would soon be gone, making him smirk a little. He turned back after taking a couple of steps, and opened both eyes, giving him a sinister, nearly malevolent look.

"By the way, Filia, I saw the most _interesting_ thing at the garden today..." he said, in an almost offhandish way. All the color drained from her face, and her eyes widened considerably. She opened her mouth to say something, but she could find no words. Xelloss' smirk got bigger.

"I was considering telling Gaav...he _has _a right to know, as he will soon be your husband..." Xelloss said. Filia knew if Xelloss told Gaav, it would only mean trouble for both her and Val, and not only did she not want to deal with the punishment both Gaav and Saichuro would deal out to her, she was even less willing to put Val through punishment as well.

"No!" Filia frantically shouted as she stood up. "P...please don't!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked, teasingly. She glared at him, murder in her eyes.

"What do you WANT from me, Xelloss?!" she hissed. If it was possible, Xelloss' smirk got even bigger. In an instant he was behind Filia.

"Sleep with me..." he whispered, seductively, into her ear, startling her. She jumped forward, and whirled around to face him.

"What?! No!!" she exclaimed.

"No?" he asked, a deadly edge to his voice. "Then I suppose I shall have to pay Gaav a visit," he said, and began to phase out.

"Wait!" Filia exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing one of his wrists, effectively stopping him from teleporting anywhere. He smiled cruelly down at her as she drooped her head, obscuring her eyes with her bangs. "All right..." she finally conceded. He smirked again, taking her chin in one gloved hand and tilting her face up toward his so he could see her eyes again.

"That's all I wanted to hear, Filia my dear," he whispered huskily, and pressed a hungry kiss to her lips.

A **LOT **OF TIME PASSES...

Filia opened one eye to peer at her husband, who was sound asleep on the other side of the bed she was lying on. Careful not to wake him, she rose, hastily threw on some clothing, and quickly retreated from the room. Pushing away the dark thoughts in her head, she made her way across a courtyard, guided by the light of the moon. She soon entered another building and made her way through a maze of corridors to another chamber.

Val yawned sleepily as he felt Filia slip under the covers next to him. He rolled over and wrapped her in his arms, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. He knew she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She always was. So, he drifted off to sleep again, followed shortly by Filia.

The next morning, the goddess of Love awoke happy and refreshed, and ready to engage in a passionate, steamy love affair with the god of War before going off to work. And, of course, the god of War happily obliged her.

Being the goddess of Love was a full-time job, and it was no easy task. Filia loved her job, however, and better yet her busy schedule provided her with a solid alibi for her husband while she got to spend her mornings, and even sometimes afternoons, with Val. Another plus to her job was the mere fact that humans in love were very amusing to watch...

Filia plopped down into her big, comfortable, fluffy, soft, pink recliner with an oversized glass of wine. She picked up a black rectangular object and pushed a button on it. Across the room from her, a huge screen flickered to life, and a scene began to play out on it.

"So...these two are my next assignment? This looks to be interesting..." Filia commented to herself. (I'm tellin' ya, she said it to the squirrel!! Bob the squirrel!)

'_Gourry you idiot! That chicken is MINE!_' came a girl's voice from the screen, accompanied by the scene of a short, red-headed girl clobbering a tall, blonde-haired man on the head.

'_Linaaaa! That's not faaaaiiir!_' the blonde whined. Filia giggled a little. This assignment would prove to be amusing...

Almost three hours later, Filia had FINALLY made some progress. The blonde was relatively easy to influence, but the read-head...she was so stubborn! She refused to be influenced by Filia's powers, and she whole-heartedly believed that she had any control over who she did or didn't fall in love with. Filia wanted to teleport down to the mortal world, hit her with a hammer, and shriek "THE GODS ARE AGAINST YOU!!", but she restrained. Only on very, VERY special occasions did she go to the mortal world; it was just too much effort. Just as Filia was about to decide that this case WAS a special occasion, she had finally prevailed, and things were beginning to get interesting.

'_Hey...Gourry?_' Lina asked, blushing a little. Gourry turned to look at her as they walked down an arbitrary road. (they were looking for Bob...is clobbered by reader agh!! sorry!!)

'_Hmmm?_' he asked.

"Good, now...tell him!! TEEEELLLLL HIM!!" Filia commanded, literally on the edge of her seat.

'_Uhmmm...well...I...Gourry...I..._' Lina stammered, getting progressively redder and redder.

'_...yes?_' Gourry asked, confused.

'_You...you have gravy in your hair_,' Lina finally answered. Filia fell forward out of her chair, and a moment later jumped to her feet, with angry flames surrounding her.

"WHAT?!!!" she demanded, stomping over to the screen and glaring at the red-head. "THAT _IMPUDENT_ LITTLE...THREE HOURS OF WORK!" she fumed, grumbling incoherently as she paced around the room. Finally, she managed to take a few deep, calming breaths, and decided that desperate times called for drastic measures. Just as she was readying herself to make a special visit to the mortal world (she was looking for her mace), she felt someone appear suddenly behind her.

"You look tense, Filia. Allow me to help you...loosen up," came a low, seductive voice in her ear. She stiffened, surprised, as a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her. She sighed. No matter how many times he randomly appeared behind her, she never ceased to be surprised by it.

"I thought it was about time for you to come around again...Xelloss," she said, softly. She could feel him smile crookedly, and he nuzzled into her hair, kissing her neck.

Though at first Filia had hated Xelloss with a passion, she now had actually grown to like him and (though she would never admit it) she had even grown to look forward to his spontaneous weekly visits. She has most certainly always preferred him over Gaav, to be sure, but it was more than that. Lately, especially, he had begun to seem much more affectionate toward her, and in ways that even Val wasn't. She received no affection, nor wanted any affection, from her husband Gaav, and Val, being the god of War, was only comfortable with being affectionate and caring to a certain degree.

"About time you came around, Xelloss," she said, teasingly, and turned in his embrace to face him, smiling. Problems with stubborn, red-headed mortals forgotten, Filia allowed Xelloss to take up the remainder of her afternoon...

And, such was the eternal life of Filia, the goddess of Love and Beauty. She spent her nights tortured by her husband, her mornings in bliss with the god of War, and the occasional afternoon or two with Xelloss, the trickster Messenger of the gods. Using her influence as a goddess, and her spiked mace, she had finally managed to settle the case between the mortals Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev, and moved on to other, easier to influence mortals. Annoying, stubborn mortals came and went, and Filia continued her job, and continues to this day...

**Owari**

Heh...a short, hopefully entertaining, rather OOC piece of fluff... Please review if you liked it, but no flames... I'll use them to burn Gaav's tacky orange trenchcoat! diabolical laughter

Anyway, as promised, here is the original story of Aphrodite and her lovers...

There are two different versions of the myth of Aphrodite's birth: one in which she is the daughter of Zeus and a titan named Dione, and the other in which she was the result of the titan Chronos' castration of his father...I prefer the less painful-sounding version, where she's the daughter of Zeus and Dione...

Anyway, Hera, Zeus' legal wife, was not at all happy about his affair with Dione, and sought to punish Zeus. She forced Aphrodite to marry her crippled son, Hephaestus, and threatened Zeus in many various ways if he did not comply. And so, Aphrodite was forced, against her will, to marry Hephaestus. She, however, abandoned him often for one of her many lovers, the most frequent being Ares, the god of War. She also had affairs with some of the lower deities, mortals, and Dionysus, the god of Fertility. (I actually considered putting in someone as Dionysus...but I needed Gourry for the part of the story he's in, Zelgadis just _isn't_ a very Dionysus-ish character, I wasn't about to use Phibrizzo or Zangalus, and Rezo...yeah right...) Anyway...she also had an affair with Hermes but, as my fic suggests, it was not largely by her own choice. Hermes somehow found out about her love affair with Ares and the clever Messenger of the gods both blackmailed her into sleeping with him AND told Hephaestus about their affair.

As you can see, my story isn't exactly...exact. '' For example, Filia was _already_ sleeping with Val when she was forced to marry Gaav, but in the Greek myth, Aphrodite slept with Ares to get away from her husband, Hephaestus. Also, Aphrodite only slept with Hermes once, and Hermes also told Hephaestus about her affair with Ares, but Filia and Xelloss formed an ongoing relationship, and Xelloss did not inform Gaav of his wife's affair with Val. Hephaestus also wasn't cruel, evil and possessive like Gaav is portrayed in this story...and the only thing crippled about Gaav is his fashion sense... burns the accursed trenchcoat

Anyway...review!! Pwease? big chibi eyes


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